HighStuck: A High-School Humanstuck Tale
by lodestarParagon
Summary: An in-progress humanstuck tale! There were hardly any completed highschool humanstuck fics, so I decided to create one! Focuses on JohnxVriska but there ARE a lot of other relationships that happen!. Rated M for language and (possibly) lemons later. I don't own the picture and homestuck belongs to Andrew Hussie. JohnVris, DaveJade, Karezi to name a few. Will finish eventually.
1. The Move

John Egbert pressed his face up against the cool glass of the window of his dad's car. His eyes glazed over the shades of gray and steel that made up the buildings of the city, hating to admit it, kind of missing the greens and blues of the countryside and the small town he was now miles and miles away from.

His dad's sudden transfer into the city had been a big shock to their family and John couldn't help but feel a little upset about it. His sister Jade, however, had taken to it almost immediately, babbling non-stop in pointless conversation with their father for the last hour, discussing things like how their senior year of high school would be like coming into a completely different environment.

At first John had tried to look at it with a positive attitude, even joining in on some of the topics, but eventually he lost interest. Lost in thought, he barely felt a touch on his shoulder and he turned his head to see his dad pat him lightly, that fatherly look in his eyes and his pipe in his mouth, softly saying  
>"It'll all be fine, John." John nodded, not being able to resist a small smile crawling onto his face as a result of his dad's compassion, and thought to himself;<br>Maybe it will be.

A few minutes later, they pulled into his new neighborhood. It wasn't trashy, it was actually kind of nice. It had a little community set up, kind of like his small town living within a much bigger entity. He shook his head at his analogy, wondering where that could have come from. They shortly pulled into the driveway of his new house, and John gazed up at the structure with a neutral look on his face. He unbuckled his seatbelt, last out of the car, and walked to the trunk where his dad handed him his box of valuables that he hadn't trusted the movers with. Hefting the box up near his chest, nearly blocking his vision, he shuffled up the driveway and, stumbling up the steps, nearly walked into Jade.

"Ow! Jade, what are you doing in the middle of the doorway?" He exclaimed, readjusting the boxes so he could see what she was doing.  
>"Isn't it so much bigger on the inside, John?!" She burst out, running inside and twirling about their new spacious living room. John fixed his bumped glasses back onto his eyes, and looked around as he stepped in. "Yeah it's OK, I guess." He shrugged, a little impressed but not much. He had to get up to his computer and set it up to make sure that the movers hadn't messed it up in a moment of random mover-osity.<p>

He climbed the stairs and walked into his room, and was immediately a little impressed.. The movers had set it up exactly the way he wanted it, with his posters and bed and computer all in the right places. Dumping his precious Cage memorabilia (What else could be in the box?) on his bed, he walked over to his desk and booted up his computer. It seemed to be working just fine, so he loaded up the applications he usually always had running. He had deleted everyone off of his Pesterchum, in a brief moment of wanting to make a new start, but hadn't realized that until Monday, he wouldn't have anyone to talk to.

Groaning, he flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering himself how his first day of school would be. He wasn't coming into the year late, rather early in fact, but everyone had already had a chance to get reacquainted, even the new kids. He would be at a serious disadvantage at finding friends, but that was okay because he usually wasn't that picky when it came to that.

Surprisingly, he heard the ring of the doorbell from the hall, jutting him out of bed. "Dad probably locked himself out of the house already." He chuckled to himself, shaking his head at his dad's fatherly antics. He clomped down the stairs, yelling that he was on his way, and opened the front door to find an unfamiliar face.  
>"Uh, hi."<p>

_So, that wraps it up for the first chapter. I've seen so many of the highschool humanstuck stories, but none of them are finished, so I decided to make one that will be finished. I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and advice is welcome! I'll post the next chapter soon.  
>Until then!<em>


	2. Who could that be?

_I'm sorry that the first few chapters are boring! I'm trying to set the stage!_

A young man stood on John's doorstep. Just by looking at him made John feel self-conscious. He was every aspect of, for lack of a better word, _cool_, but totally nonchalant about it. He gave off an aura of extreme confidence, but partnered with the 'I don't give two shits what you think of me' vibe. He smiled at John – at least, John thought he smiled, he could barely tell as the adolescent's mouth moved just the slightest bit and he couldn't see his eyes through his reflective shades – and held out a fist bump.

"Hey there. You just moved in?" The unknown boy asked. He had a steady voice, as if he knew exactly what he was saying.  
>"Um, yeah, we just got here." John answered, as he scratched the back of his head. What kind of guy comes up to the new people's place half an hour after they arrive? Either he was some kind of stalker, or did not have nearly enough to occupy his time.<p>

The boy's fistbump hung in the air. John finally realized it with a slight "Oh!" and touched fists lightly with the guy. If he had been able to see his eyes, they probably would have been rolling. "My name's Dave. Strider. I live a house down." He jutted his thumb to the next house over. "I live there with my little sis, Rose, and my bro, Di-" He was cut off as a new young lady, with hair as blonde as Dave's crossed the yard and smacked him in the back of the head.

"I am NOT younger, prick. We're twins." She said very matter of factly, then turned to John. "Hi there." She addressed John, her scowl turning to a smile. "My name's Rose Lalonde. I have the misfortune to have this twit for a brother." She pointed her thumb at Dave, who shrugs it off. "Uh, John Egbert." John said, suppressing a chuckle. Rose smiled. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Egbert. Are you an only child?"

At that point Jade came bounding down the stairs. "Uh, no, speaking of, actually, this is Jade." He said, moving his head so she could be seen.  
>"Hi! I'm Jade Harley! It's soooooo nice to meet you!" she exclaimed, the words tumbling out of her mouth. Dave pulled his glasses down with a look of interest on his face. John facepalmed. Jade and Rose giggled in harmony.<p>

"So," Dave broke the silence. "You guys are seniors?" John nodded. "Attending B. F. High?" Another nod. "Cool. I guess we'll see you then. Oh, you guys got Pesterchum?" Jade exclaimed before John could answer. "We sure do! My handle's gardenGnostic, and John's is ectoBiologist! What are yours?" Dave chuckled before answering. "Mine's turntechGodhead. Rose's here is tentaclePsychologist or something." Rose smacked him again. "You know very well it's tentacleTherapist!" she exclaimed. John and Jade laughed, and promised they'd pester them later. "See ya." Dave called as he and Rose walked down the sidewalk.

John hung around in the foyer a little bit before walking back up to his room with a soda. He popped the can and sat down at his computer, thinking maybe he'd check tumblr, or MSPA, to find his Pesterchum already flashing. He had two messages from Rose and Dave, it seemed like. He pulled up Dave's chat and began talking to him.

- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 14:13-  
>TG: sup<br>EB: oh, hey dave! i did not expect you to get back to me so soon!  
>TG: yeah dude got more to talk to you about<br>EB: oh? like what?  
>TG: have you gotten your schedule yet<br>EB: no, they were supposed to be mailed to us today, i think. wait, they might be here! let me check!  
>TG: okay let me know your classes<br>- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 14:21-

John got up from his desk and exited his room, taking care not to run into his dad. He entered the kitchen and was surprised to see two envelopes on the counter, one addressed to himself and one to Jade. He picked up the envelope for him, and took it back upstairs. Sitting back down at his computer, he opened the flap and pulled out the schedule. As he read it, he replied back to Dave.

- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 14:26-  
>EB: hey i got it!<br>TG: wicked whats your first four classes  
>EB: uhm, english, science, math, and computer science.<br>TG: sweet, youve got your first three with me and your last with CG  
>EB: CG?<br>TG: youll meet him tomorrow  
>EB: oh okay. anyways see you tomorrow then.<br>TG: see you  
>TG: oh hey you should answer rose she wont stop bitchin about you talkin to me and not her<br>EB: hahaha okay!  
>EB: see you!<br>- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 14:41-

John closed Dave's pesterlog window and opened up Rose's. It seemed she had gotten fed up with his not answering and had logged off.

- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 14:14-  
>TT: Hello there, John.<br>TT: It is me, Rose, if you had not figured that out already.  
>TT: Very well, I can accept that you are either busy talking to TG or are preoccupied with other matters.<br>TT: I will contact you later.  
>- tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 14:34-<p>

John shook his head and laughed. They were an odd pair, but they seemed okay. He was glad he had made some friends, anyway. Minimizing Pesterchum, he scooted his chair back from his computer and gazed out the window.

"So, I'm definitely meeting Dave tomorrow." John thought aloud. "Maybe Rose. At least I don't have to go into my senior year completely alone, and of course, I'll have Jade." He grinned a little bit. "Maybe this year will actually be kind of fun."

_Well, that wraps it up for chapter two. I'm sorry the introduction is so boring, I just needed to set the stage! The next chapter will begin the school stage, which is where things will start getting interesting and ships will begin to be stocked.  
>Until then!<em> 


	3. The first day and who is THAT?

_Language in this chapter! What else would you expect from Karkat Vantas?_

John approached the bus stop, Jade chattering beside him about how excited she was. It was their first day, and Dave had told them to meet him at the corner of the street. They neared the stop and were greeted with the sight of Dave leaning up against the lamppost, cool as ever, and Rose holding her books, diligently waiting for the bus. John waved and smiled, Dave stuck out a thumbs up.

"Welcome, Egbert, to the first day of your senior year." Dave greeted them when they had reached the bus stop. Rose turned her head and smiled at John, who smiled back. Dave shook his head and was immediately immersed in conversation by Jade, who was asking way too many questions then she should have. Dave, however, answered all of them while John spoke to Rose.

"You excited?" She asked as John looked up and down the street for the bus.  
>"Yeah, a little bit." He replied, after finding no sign of the bus. "I guess I'm more nervous, really. I mean, who comes in to a new school during <em>senior year?<em> It's ridiculous." Rose nodded. "I see your point. There's a good possibility that you'll fit in fine, however." He nodded. She was trying to be reassuring, and that was sweet.

"You can stay with our clique. We have a decent mesh of people." Dave cut in from behind them. John hadn't realized he was listening. "Yeah. Who knows? Egbert might have a girlfriend by the end of the week." John blushed, and Jade laughed. Rose suppressed a chuckle.

"Yeah, well," John said "I don't usually have the best luck with girls, but who knows? Maybe senior year will be my year." Dave grinned. "Maybeeee." He turned back to Jade who looked at Dave inquisitively. He shrugged his shoulders and turned as the bus pulled up.

"Come on, Egbert, you're sitting with me. I gotta introduce you to our 'friends.'" Dave chuckled and went in first, John closely behind him. Rose and Jade came last, talking to themselves and giggling. Dave walked down the aisle with John in tow, plopping down in a seat near the back and gesturing to John to sit down. No sooner had John sat down then the girl in front of him turned around and began asking questions.

"Hey, Strider, who's the lost puppy?" She asked. She had bright red reflective glasses and a mischievous smile. "Terezi, this is John. John, meet our local disability, Terezi." Terezi put on a pouty face. "Hey, it's not cool to make fun of a blind girl, buuuuuuttttt I guess I can let it slide since you're just _so cool_." "And don't you forget it either, sister." Dave countered coolly. Terezi let out a laugh and turned back around in her seat. The boy beside her, however, was now interested in the 'lost puppy.' He also turned around in his seat.

"Well, Strider, who's this asshole?" He spat. John could tell right away that this guy had some serious temper problems. "Chill out, Karkat. This is John." Dave introduced him. "John, this is the guy you have Computer Science with." John let out a noise of realization. "Oh! This is CG?" Karkat turned to Dave, enraged. "You gave him my Pesterchum handle? Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Dave laughed. "Jeez, Karkat, chill out. I didn't give him the full handle; I just said you had computer science with him." Karkat rolled his eyes and sat back down, grumbling to himself.

Dave turned back to John. "He's not a bad guy when you get to know him. Sometimes he's okay." Dave laid his head back on the seat and was quiet. John turned away and within minutes they were at the school. John followed Dave into one of the buildings and upstairs into a classroom.

"Hey, Scratch," Dave called to the teacher. "This is John Egbert. He's new here." The teacher looked up from a stack of papers and smiled at John. "Hello Mr. Egbert. My name is Dr. Scratch. I will be your English teacher this year." John nodded and said hello. "Er, seats…I suppose you can sit beside Mr. Strider and Ms. Pyrope."

John turned to where Dave was and saw an empty seat to his left, with Terezi on the other side of it. John walked over, and deposited his bag behind his desk. Soon, all the other students filled in and the bell rang.

"Good morning students. I trust you all had a nice weekend?" Nods and grunts filled the room. What did the teacher expect from a class of seniors at 9 in the morning? Scratch rolled his eyes. "Today we will be discussing the Dark and middle Ages and how literature was like back then." A collective groan rose from the class.

"But first," Scratch continued "I'd like to introduce our new student. John, if you will please stand up?" John blushed and did as Scratch asked of him. "This is John Egbert. He's new to our school and just moved to the city, so let's try to be civil and kind." There were several hellos and many gazes at him, trying to figure out what he was like. He sat back down and was quiet throughout the period.

The next period followed in the same fashion, and then they broke for lunch at one. John followed Dave to the cafeteria and sat down with him at a empty table. The table wasn't empty for long, however, as it was filled with people from Dave's clique within minutes.

"So, Dave, would you mind telling us who your friend is?" A cheerful voice came from a girl with long black hair. She wore lots of makeup and was very self confident. "Yeah, this is John. John, this is Feferi Peixes, Mrs. Queen of the school herself, and her boyfriend Sollux Captor." Dave nodded to a boy sitting beside her, holding her hand, with mismatched sunglasses lens and short black hair. He nodded at John and John nodded back. Dave proceeded to introduce him to the rest of their group.

Pointing at a quiet girl with long brown hair, he introduced her as Aradia Megido, the quiet music lover of the group. She nodded and smiled, but with no warmth. It wasn't a cold smile, either, more like an empty one, like her eyes. John felt as if something must have happened to this girl and felt a twinge of pity for her before Dave pushed him on.

"This is Tavros, the, well, average person of the group." He pointed to a boy with a fauxhawk. "He's kind of an outsider because he won't _open up to any one of us._" He obviously directed that last comment at Tavros, who chuckled but remained silent besides nodding at John.

"This is Kanaya, our local hipster. She's always setting some new trend or something." He jutted his thumb towards a girl with short black hair and a striking red skirt. She said hello warmly and returned to her food. 'She's pretty nice.' John thought to himself.

"Um, You've met Terezi and Karkat… I think that's everyone?" Dave finished and put his hands behind his head. John nodded until he saw a girl sitting alone at the far end of the table. "Uh, who's that?" He asked, pointing at her. All of them turned and groaned simultaneously. "That," Terezi said with just a hint of anger in her voice "is Vriska Serket." John immediately sensed the hostility in the air. "I'm guessing you all don't like her?" He asked tentatively.

"The uthed to be our friend." Sollux said, speaking with a noticeably large lisp. "But the did thome thtuff and, well, long thtory thort, we don't talk to her anymore." John looked her over. She didn't look that bad. She was actually really pretty, in his opinion. She had really long black hair, longer than Feferi's, that went down past her waist. It looked really soft, like silk, and it framed her face. Wow, her face. She had pale white skin and glasses and beautiful eyes that she accented just right with blue. She had blue everywhere in her outfit, from her lipstick to her shirt. She was bent over a notepad, drawing from the movements of her pencil.

John was suddenly bolted out of his thoughts by his friends. "Dude, you alright? You looked at Serket and got this really weird look on your face." Dave inquired, a concerned eyebrow above his glasses. John nodded quickly and returned to their conversation, but he couldn't help but glance over at Vriska a couple of times. Dave almost caught him once or twice, but if he did he didn't say anything about it. Then, a guy and a girl came over and started talking to her, and John looked away, only to find Tavros looking at her with the same expression he had.

Uh oh.

After lunch ended, he and Dave walked to math together. He sat down in the back with Dave, but he couldn't keep a look of shock from crossing his face when who else but Vriska Serket herself walked in and sat in the corner. Dave definitely caught him this time, and immediately jumped him.

"Alright, what's the deal? You were staring at Serket all through lunch and now you look like you were just punched in the mouth. You're crushing on her, aren't you?" John stammered in response. "Wh-wh-what? No, I just, uh, think, uh, I just think she's kind of, uh, interesting." Dave raised an eyebrow. "I don't buy that bullshit. Spill it."

John sighed. "Okay, she's very attractive AND she's interesting. Bite me." Dave just laughed and shook his head. "Out of all the girls you could fall for, Aradia, Kanaya, Terezi, Feferi, Rose, and you pick the one that we told you was a bad idea." He just chuckled. "Well, whatever man. I ain't gonna hold you back. As long as you don't hold me back from pursuing Jade." John almost choked. "Jade? My sister? You like my sister?!"

"Yeah man, she's hella rad." Dave answered calmly. John just shook his head. "Alright man, if you wanna get into that." Dave laughed hard. "I could be saying the same thing to you." Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a hard smack as a yardstick slammed down in between them.

"I'm sorry, Dave, is my math lesson interrupting your conversation?" A man held the yardstick, though he didn't look much like a teacher. "Oh, yeah, sorry Dirk. I mean, uh, _Professor_." Dave said, stretching out the last word. John couldn't help but chuckle. The professor turned to him. "So, you're Egbert. The guy who just moved in next door to my little brother, hm?"

John was shocked. This was Dave's brother? He looked like he should be at Magfest or something. John nodded. "Well, do try to keep him in line, will you?" John nodded and Dave chuckled. Dirk returned to the board and started writing up complex equations. John was a little embarrassed and looked down, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught Vriska looking at him with a look of interest and a smile. She looked away as soon as she saw him look, and he turned his gaze back to his paper. The class progressed smoothly for a while, before Dirk interrupted their silent work.

"We will now be splitting into partners for an around the room activity." The entire class groaned. What were they, freshman? Dirk smiled. He started splitting people up and eventually he reached the back. "Now, I do NOT think it is a good idea putting you two together." He said when he reached Dave and John. Guardians, UGH. He thought for a moment and seemed to decide on something. "Well, Dave, I can't put you with John, and Terezi would just be a idiotic decision," A giggle from Terezi in front of them. "So how about, hmm, Dave and Kanaya can work together, and John, how about you go work with Ms. Serket?"

John's heart nearly pounded out of his chest. He turned to Vriska, who had a similar look of surprise on her face. He turned to Dave, who was trying hard not to laugh. Dirk raised an eyebrow. "Any day now will be fine, you two. Come on, shoo, shoo." John stood up, grabbed his stuff, and moved over next to Vriska. He sat down and was silent before speaking up.

"Uhm, hi, I'm John-,"  
>"Yeah, I know who you are. You're the new student from the country." Vriska interrupted him. She had a voice like a melody. John mentally yelled at himself to snap out of it. "Um, yeah. You're Vriska, right?"<br>She nodded. "I'm surprised you're even talking to me. You sit with Dave and them and you'll hear all kinds of stories about me." She said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Well, I don't judge people based on what someone else says to me. I judge them on how they act to me." She whipped her head back up to face John, a momentary look of astonishment on her face, but it was quickly replaced with a confident smirk. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to see how I act to you then." John laughed. "Yeah!"

They worked together for the rest of the period. John found that Vriska was incredibly easy to talk to and was very, very cool. She had an extreme interest in arachnids, something he thought was interesting, and she liked to play table top role playing games, something he'd always admired from afar. They got through the work fairly quickly and found themselves immersed in conversation about John's old town, their likes, their dislikes, the social scene, the teachers, anything they could think of. Eventually, however, the bell rang, jolting them out of their stupor.

"Oh, I gotta get to Computer Science." John said, disappointed. Vriska was obviously disheartened as well. "Oh, yeah, I gotta go to English. I'll see you later, Egbert." She said, smiling at him, and left the room. Dave approached him. "Hey, my brother's gonna give us a ride after school so we don't have to take the bus." John nodded. "Cool. How'd it go with Kanaya?" Dave shrugged. "She's cool, but she's kind of uptight when it comes to schoolwork. Can't really take much of a joke."

Dave continued. "So, we all know the real question. How was your first meeting with Serket?" John thought for a minute. "She's uh, she's pretty wow." Dave just laughed. "Come on, Romeo, Karkat won't wait forever."

They left the class. Dave led John to Karkat, who yelled at him for being late. Dave just shrugged. Karkat rolled his eyes and told John to follow him, swearing under his breath about how he "wasn't a fuckin' babysitter." And "wasn't gonna do this bullshit all year." When they got there, however, he was surprised to find that John actually knew what he was doing. It gave them a chance to talk more about programming and the feats they had accomplished in the past. Turned out they were both really shitty programmers, and they shared a laugh at that. Maybe Karkat isn't so bad, John thought to himself.

The bell rang before long and John made his way back to Dirk's class. Dave was already in there, talking to Dirk. They greeted him and shortly thereafter they left. They dropped John off at his house and he unlocked the door. He entered to find an empty house. It seemed his Dad was still at work and Jade hadn't gotten home yet. He went upstairs, and threw his back pack on his bed. A slip of paper flew out of an open flap, however, and he reached down to get it. He unfolded it to find a message in cursive blue ink-

"arachnidsGrip.  
>Pester me. ::::)"<p>

_That wraps it up for chapter three! I introduced the characters just as I wanted and the scene's now set for more of the plot. I don't know how long the series is gonna be, but I do know I want it to cover all the relationships I have planned and to last for their senior year, so we'll see how that turns out.  
>Until next time!<em>


	4. A day with Rose and Vriska

- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering arachnidsGrip [AG] at 20:09-  
>EB: hi vriska! It's john!<br>AG: Hi John!  
>EB: it was nice meeting you today!<br>AG: Yeah, ditto! You seem like a pretty cool kid ::::).  
>EB: do not know what you mean by "kid", we are the same age! Haha<br>AG: Oh relaaaaaaaax, I'm just messing!  
>EB: i know i know!<br>AG: Good to know you can t8ke a joke.  
>EB: what classes do you have tomorrow?<br>AG: Why? Dying for some more Serket time? :::;)  
>EB: oh yeah suuure am.<br>AG: You know you loooooooove it.  
>EB: schedule girl. spill it.<br>AG: Government, Spanish, Gym and an off period.  
>EB: we have government, gym and the off period together.<br>EB: well, i guess not the off period cus you would probably head home like any sane person, haha  
>AG: Yeah, I guessssssss. Why, did you want to h8ng out or something?<br>EB: huh? oh, no! well, maybe, i do not know, you seem pretty cool and all but we did just meet and i would not want to freak you out.  
>AG: How abouuuuuuuut we see how tomorrow goes and I'll let you know at the end of gym, ok8y?<br>EB: okay!  
>EB: i'll see you tomorrow then!<br>EB: bye!  
>AG: 8ye!<br>AG: ::::)  
>- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering arachnidsGrip [AG] at 20:47-<p>

Just as John was about to close out of Pesterchum, Rose's and Dave's icons lit up flashing. Sighing, he decided to take care of Rose first.

- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 20:46-  
>TT: Hello John.<br>EB: hi rose!  
>TT: It would obviously not be over the top to believe the assertion that your first day of your senior year was an extraordinary success and that you are now the most popular member of your social clique.<br>EB: haha, well i did make some friends!  
>EB: dave introduced me to some people and they were really nice!<br>TT: That sounds like a success to me.  
>EB: by the way, i did not see you at lunch today! :(<br>TT: I have the second lunch on the first day in rotation.  
>EB: oh! duh! what lunch do you have tomorrow? we should sit together!<br>TT: That sounds enjoyable. I have the first lunch.  
>EB: awesome! me too! do you sit with feferi and aradia and dave?<br>TT: I do.  
>EB: cool! i will save you a seat! see you then!<br>TT: Goodbye John.  
>- tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 21:16—<p>

John sighed. Now to deal with Dave, he thought to himself, and opened up his chat. Immediately his eyes were asserted with a blur of red text.

- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 20:47-  
>TG: hey dude<br>TG: howd it go with serket  
>TG: where are you you nerd<br>TG: would you stop flirting with my sister for five seconds and answer me  
>-TG is now an idle chum!-<br>EB: oh hey dave!  
>EB: yeah it went really well with vriska! i think we might be hanging out after school tomorrow.<br>EB: and i was not flirting! we were just talking!  
>-TG is no longer an idle chum!-<br>TG: yeah bullshit otherwise she wouldnt have come in here screaming about how you asked her to eat lunch with you  
>TG: i mean damn egbert that is impressive<br>TG: two girls eating out of your hands on the first day  
>TG: you sly motherfucker<br>EB: they were not "eating out of my hands!"  
>EB: we are just going to hang out!<br>TG: whatever  
>EB: so how is it going with jade? she locked herself up in her room to talk to you.<br>TG: oh yeah man shes cool  
>TG: kind of weird and all but cool<br>EB: lol! well that sounds good.  
>TG: yeah i think she might be interested dog<br>EB: well from the way she will not shut up about you i would say so.  
>TG: again, i could say the same thing for you bro<br>EB: wait.  
>EB: rose talks about me?<br>TG: yeah a pretty good bit too  
>EB: huh, who would have guessed.<br>TG: anyways off the topic of my sisters love interests what classes do you have tomorrow  
>EB: government, theatre, gym and off period.<br>TG: lucky my off periods on a day  
>TG: we dont have classes together tomorrow either<br>EB: oh man that's lame.  
>TG: anyways enjoy serket and rose tomorrow<br>EB: suuuuuuuuuure willllllllllll.  
>TG: later egbert<br>- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 21:49-

Rose talked about John often? Did that mean she liked him? John had never been very good at reading girls. He guessed he would have to find out based on Rose's actions tomorrow. And then there was Vriska, who he had two classes with and maybe an off period. What did she think of him? As if he could tell.

John and Jade met Dave and Rose at the bus stop again the next day. Dave pulled John aside when they first got there, and whispered a quick message in his ear.  
>"Hey man, let me sit by Jade today. You can sit by Rose." John raised an eyebrow. Dave shrugged. It appeared he really was pursuing Jade. Well, better him then no one. "Sure." He replied, and walked over to talk with Rose.<p>

Before long, the bus had arrived and they were on their way. John and Rose had some conversation, but it kind of made John a bit nervous to talk to her. She had such a florid vocabulary, it put him on edge that he didn't speak with the eloquence she did. She didn't seem to mind, however, and smiled at his jokes and listened to his stories just the same. It seemed like barely any time before they were at the school. They bid each other a goodbye, and John set out for his government class.

After several minutes of wandering, two discussions with teachers and a close encounter with a mob of underclassmen, John found his way to his class. He walked in to find Vriska already there, who smiled that mischievous smile at him again. He approached the teacher and cleared his throat.

"Ah yes, Mr. Egbert." The man said without looking up. "I've been expecting you. My name is Mr. Sassacre, and I will be your government teacher this semester." John nodded, even though Mr. Sassacre couldn't see him. "Just sit in any empty seat." John said a meek yes sir in response, and turned to Vriska. They shrugged their shoulders together and he walked and sat down next to her.

"Glad to see you again, Egbert." She said with her grin. He smiled back at her. "Oh, are you now?" he asked, teasing her. She rolled her eyes and turned to face the front. He chuckled and turned also. The bell rang and Sassacre got up and started talking about politics, right off the bat. Welp, this'll be fun, John thought to himself, before feeling something land in his lap. He looked down and found a crumpled up piece of paper. It was a note from Vriska, in the same blue cursive from yesterday. It read

"Please don't tell me you're listening to this guy."

John smiled and wrote back, tossing it to Vriska. They proceeded to correspond in this manner throughout the period, talking more about each other and getting to know one another. This manner of acting couldn't go on forever, however, and eventually Sassacre spoke up.

"MR. EGBERT."  
>John nearly fell out of his seat. Sassacre had one hell of a voice. John gulped and answered. "Yes, Mr. Sassacre?" Sassacre tapped his foot. "Would you care to stop the flirtation with Miss Serket that you have been carrying on all period, or should I read your notes to the class like freshman?" John blushed radically, and he saw that Vriska was too. He shook his head slowly. "No. No sir." He answered meekly, and looked down at his desk.<p>

He stayed silent and didn't dare to look at Vriska or Mr. Sassacre. The bell rang before long, and John packed his things away. As Vriska passed by him, he saw a note land on his desk and felt her finger poke him in the side. She left quickly before he could read it, and he stuffed it in his pocket. He walked out the door and into the hall before daring to open it.

"Way to go, Egbert.  
>Racking up some points in your favor.<p>

John couldn't help but smile and walked to his next class with a spring in his step, not having any idea where he was going.

John's theatre class passed by uneventfully. He didn't know anybody in it, and had just taken it for the fine arts credit. He found himself looking forward much more to his lunch, where he could be with his friends. And Rose. He would be sitting with Rose. He had to remember to pay special attention to her. After all, he had asked her in particular to sit with him. He shrugged and guessed he would see how it all went.

He found his way back to the lunchroom without wasting too much time, which was a major accomplishment for him. Dave clapped as he sat down. "Well well, look who can make his way around on his own. Next thing you know, he'll be out of diapers." He pretended to wipe a tear from his cheek. "They grow up so fast." John punched him in the shoulder to get him to shut up. Well, he tried to, anyways. Dave was fast as well as cool, and he dodged John's pitiful attempt at a blow without missing a beat. John rolled his eyes and sat down, making sure to save a seat for Rose.

Some of the people from yesterday filled in, but apparently Kanaya and Sollux didn't have this lunch. A new person came by, however, a young man by the name of Equius. He wore broken sunglasses, and was extremely ripped. He said hello to John and sat next to Aradia, who didn't react to it at all. Equius, however, glanced at Aradia every now and then, and it wasn't hard to discern that he had a crush on her. Aradia didn't seem to like him like that though. Poor guy's friend zoned, John thought to himself.

Terezi was there, and so was Karkat, though, so it was OK. Eventually, John saw Rose walk into the cafeteria. Her face visibly lit up when she spotted him, and he waved her over. He patted the empty seat next to him, and she sat down. "Hi, Rose!" John said happily. She looked at him with a smile.  
>"Hi there, John." She replied, pulling a sack lunch out of her bag. John pulled out some snacks, and they began to talk as they ate.<p>

Apparently, she also had a lot in common with him. They both enjoyed the aftermath of a good prank, and thought Nicolas Cage to be God's gift to mankind. They talked throughout the lunch period, and Dave constantly was shooting John smirks. John ignored him, though, focusing on Rose. He was genuinely enjoying their conversation on whether Sassacre was secretly king of tomfoolery when the bell rang. Rose pursed her lips mid sentence as everyone rose up around them. John slung his bag over his shoulder as Rose stood up with her bag.

"Walk me to my next class?" She asked, and he grinned and nodded. They continued their discussion until they had reached her government class, also with Sassacre. The teacher nodded at John at the doorway, but Rose didn't enter. "So, I was thinking that maybe we could enjoy more of each other's company after school today?" She asked with a hopeful smile on her face. "Oh!" John said. "Well, I would love to, but I kinda already made plans for the day." The smile fell off her face but she quickly hid her disappointment. "Oh, I'm sorry; I should have thought that you would have been busy." John shook his head. "No, no, it's not that I don't want to! I really do! Um, is tomorrow okay?" The smile returned to her face. "That sounds lovely." She gave him an unexpected hug and went into her class. Sassacre raised an eyebrow at him, and they shrugged in unison.

John was halfway to his gym class when he ran into Karkat. "Oh, hey Karkat!" He greeted him. Karkat grunted in response.  
>"Please don't tell me you're on your way to gym." He pleaded, crossing his fingers visibly. John smiled and nodded extravagantly. "I sure am! Come on, Karkat, let's go work out together!" He pushed Karkat from behind as Karkat swore repeatedly on their way into the locker rooms.<p>

The gym class was a mixture of all of the classes. The teacher, a lady by the name of Mrs. Crocker, immediately singled John out.  
>"Mr. Egbert. I hope you are ready for work in this class, because there will be a lot of it." John rolled his eyes and nodded. Vriska came by and sat down on the floor beside him.<p>

"Hey, Egbert." She said, poking him in the ribs again. He smiled at her. Before he could greet her, Karkat on his opposite side jumped her.  
>"What in the fucking hell do you want, Serket?" he snapped at her, completely unrequited. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What? Am I not allowed to talk to my friend?" She said, wrapping her arms around John. "See Karkat? We're FRIENDS. BEST BUDDIES." Karkat snorted, and whispered "I hope you know what you're doing.", and scooted away from him. Vriska didn't take her arms off of him immediately, though, until he looked her in the eyes with a raised eyebrow.<p>

"Oh, sorry." She says, and takes her arms off of him, blushing deep red against her pale skin. He shook his head. "No, you're uh, you're fine." He said, also blushing. She cleared her throat. "So, you're friends with Karkat?" John nodded. "Uh, yeah, I think so." She nodded. "That's cool, that's cool." He scratched the back of his head. "Did you, uh, did you mean that when you said we were friends?" She looked taken aback. "Well, yeah! I mean, we've talked a lot, and we know each other, so yeah, I'd say we're pretty good friends." John smiled. "Awesome. I like that." She shot him a look. "Do you now?" He gulped. "Uh, yeah. Yeah I do." She smiled. "So do I."

They spent the gym class spotting each other and helping each other work. Vriska had a habit of pushing him very, very far, including adding weights to his sets without him realizing it. It was all in good fun, though, and she never put on more than he couldn't do. He got back at her, though, by putting on a stronger band for pull-ups than she used, and laughed as he watched her almost fly into the ceiling. The class ended after a while, and they stood panting at the water fountain.

"So…" John said between gasps. "What…do you think…about hanging…out today?" Vriska nodded, and gasped. "Yeah…I…want to…sounds like…fun." John got a hold of his lungs and stood up. Vriska did as well, and they smiled together. They raced each other back to the locker rooms, where they changed and met outside.

"So, do you want to, um, grab a burger or something?" He asked tentatively. She let out a laugh. "Wow, John, you reaaaaaaaally know how to treat a girl." She smiled, however. "I'd love to."

_That wraps it up for chapter 4! I think chapter 5 is going to focus more on the other relationships and give them some development, but don't worry, John and Vriska aren't out of the picture yet, not by a long shot.  
>Until then!<em>


	5. Shit: Go Down

_Sorry that the updates have been kinda screwy, I've wanted to add these daily but it's kind of hard to write them at the same time as making up a week worth of schoolwork. Anyways, here is Chapter 5, hope you enjoy it._

** -Two weeks after the events of Chapter 4-**

John leaned up against the bus stop and yawned. Another day in the routine, he thought to himself, as he readjusted his bag. Dave was going on about some song or another, and Rose was quieter than usual today. Jade, of course, was all over Dave, as was the usual. Rose had been acting a bit strange the past few days towards John. She hadn't been talking to him as much and it was bothering him. Now, however, was as good a time as any to talk to her confront her about it.

"Rose." He said, tapping her on the shoulder. She looked up and met his eyes, if only for a second. There were some emotions there that he couldn't understand in that brief moment, but he did pick up some sadness.  
>"Yes, John?" She answered, avoiding his gaze and pretending to look for the bus. They both knew it wouldn't be here for another few minutes. She was just stalling.<p>

"What's wrong? You've been acting weird to me recently. Did I...Did I do something?" He asked, genuinely worried. She sensed the concern in his voice and looked up at him. "No, John, you…no, you haven't done anything wrong. I'll tell you after school…okay?" She flashed a bit of a smile and he smiled back. "Yeah, that sounds good. Come by my place, OK?" She nodded and smiled before turning to face the street again.

John turned to Dave to find him flashing a thumbs up.  
>"Good job, man. You played your cards right this time." John shrugged. He wasn't trying to "play his cards right," he just wanted to make sure Rose wasn't mad at him. Maybe he'd get a genuine explanation after school today.<p>

_Okay, so remember when I said that this chapter would focus more on other characters? Yeah, I lied. I wrote out a plot diagram a few days ago and I decided those characters would get their own chapters to work around their feelings. This chapter will be a shorter one, decidedly, but more will go down. Hope you all don't mind._

-At lunch on that day-

This was the third A-Day that John had sat with Vriska and not Karkat and Dave's group. Dave was starting to worry, Karkat was getting suspicious, and Terezi was getting angry.  
>"What does he see in that…that…Spiderbitch?!" she yelled angrily that day. Karkat tried to calm her down, but to no avail. She continued to rage and flail around, yelling the word BLUH over and over.<p>

_ -Vriska's PoV-_

Vriska looked over at Terezi's outbursts and chuckled. She turned around to John to tell him something when she felt warm skin under her hand. She looked down and saw that she had accidentally placed her hand where John's was already resting.

"Oh, jeez!" She yipped, pulling her hand away. She was blushing up a storm. "I'm sorry!" She tried to cover up her red cheeks but it didn't work. At least John was blushing too. "Haha, hey, it's cool! Don't worry about it." He smiled his slightly bucktoothed grin at her and she felt that genuine smile that always came around when he was near creep onto her face.

She really liked him…and she thought, maybe, she might like him _like that_. She'd been so far away from everybody for so long; she had forgotten what it felt like to have a crush. She let out a laugh, realizing that she just admitted to herself that she had a crush on John Egbert. Absurd.

"What was with that laugh?" John asked, chuckling himself. "That was kind of random." She smiled. "Y-Yeah, I don't know. Guess you're a funny guy." She poked him in the ribs like she always did, and he yelped like he always did. "Jeez, girl!" He said, laughing. The bell rang and they got up to leave. Vriska turned around to ask John to walk with her only to find Tavros pulling him away. He yelled "I'll pester you!" and turned to Tavros. Vriska smiled, shrugged, waved goodbye, and walked away.

_ -John's PoV-_

"Uh, Tavros, you said you wanted to talk to me?" John asked. Tavros had pulled him aside rather quickly and urgently. John figured he must have something on his mind.  
>"Yeah, um, okay, I'm just, um, ok," Tavros began. The guy had one hell of a stutter. "Do you um…okay, I'm just gonna say it." John nodded.<p>

"Do you have a crush on Vriska?"  
>John was shocked at first. He hadn't been expecting this, especially from Tavros. How long had the guy been watching him to decide to confront him about it? "What? Oh, well, um, yeah, I think I do." John admitted, blushing slightly. Tavros grimaced.<p>

"That's what I was afraid of." He said, shaking his head. "Um, look, John, you're a really cool guy and um, this isn't anything personal but, um, I'd just uh, really appreciate it if you, um, kind of backed off Vriska." John raised an eyebrow. "Well, not to be rude in response, but, why should I? I like her." Tavros shook his head. "I know, man, it's just that, well, I've been here longer, and I've liked her longer, it's just been me trying to, um, work up the courage to, uh, tell her." John slowly nods. "Yeah…yeah, I understand. Yeah I'll back off." Tavros' eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Thanks man!" He yelled, and gave John a hug. "You're a lifesaver!" He walked off, much happier than before. John pursed his lips. What had he just given up?

-After the remaining two periods-

John waited outside one of the school's side entrances. Rose had told him to meet her here when she passed him in the hallway, so he waited. Eventually he heard the door click open behind him, and he turned to find Rose standing there, clutching her books with a worried expression on her face.

"Hey, Rose." He greeted her, smiling. She smiled back. "Hey, John. Can we sit down?" John nodded, and they sat down on a bench together. "Okay, so this is where you tell me what's been bothering you?" He asked. She nodded. She looked like she was struggling with something. "Rose. You know you can tell me anything, right?" She nodded. She took a deep breath in, and…

"John, I have a crush on you."

What.

_ -Rose's PoV-_

Did I break him?

_ -John's PoV-_

John shook off his daze and looked at Rose. She was really pretty, with the sunlight falling on her white face and blonde hair. Maybe… Maybe he had feelings for her, too. Maybe there was a reason Tavros had pursued Vriska. He looked at Rose and smiled.

"Rose, will you go out with me?"

_So, that wraps it up for chapter 5! I bet a TON of you are really confused right now! "What? I thought this was JohnVris?! What is this GrimDorks bullshit?" Don't worry. All will be explained in future chapters. I told you a lot would go down!  
>Anyways,<br>until next time!  
><em> 


	6. Short but Sweet

_CHAPTER 6! Another short chapter, but more will go down! I am so very sorry about the wait, I meant to get around to writing but I never got the chance this week!_

_-Vriska's PoV-_

  
>-arachnidsGrip [AG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 22:26-<br>AG: Hi, John!  
>EB: oh, hey vriska!<br>AG: How are you?  
>EB: i am pretty good, actually. you?<br>AG: I'm good. I actually need to tell you something…..  
>AG: Hello?<br>AG: John?  
>EB: hey, sorry, rose called. what did you need to tell me?<br>AG: You and Rose are pretty close, aren't you?  
>EB: well, yeah, i guess. couples are supposed to be, are they not?<br>AG: Whoa whoa WHOA. Hold up.  
>AG: You and Rose...are a…..couple?<br>EB: yeah, we got together after school today.  
>EB: is everything alright, vriska?<br>EB: hello?  
>-AG has logged off-<br>EB: did i say something?  
>-ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering arachnidsGrip [AG] at 23:09<p>

How _could_ he?  
>She had obviously liked him. It was blatant, even. How could he not have noticed that? Even worse, how could he have entered a relationship with that prim, stuck up, BLUH. She shook her head, her long hair flipping around her. She had to get a hold of herself and think logically. Maybe…maybe she had read him wrong. Maybe he actually didn't have feelings for her, and she had misunderstood his signals. I mean, why else would he start dating Rose? Unless he thought that she was out of his league…no, she can't think about him right now. She had to get her mind off him. A knock came from her door. She furrowed her brow at the sound, wondering who that could be. She opened the door to find Tavros standing there, holding a bouquet of roses, looking like he might die of fright.<p>

"Um, h-hi, V-V-Vriska…" Tavros said nervously. She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, hey Tavros. It's kinda late. What's up?" She leaned against the doorway. He pulled at his collar and stuck out the hand holding the flowers. "I, um, I got these for you…" He said. She took them. They smelled wonderful. "I was, um, wondering…um, will you…go out with me?"

Vriska raised an eyebrow. She knew Tavros had been drooling over her for the past year but never figured he would grow the balls to say something about it to her. She had been looking for a distraction from Egbert, and now, one was standing on her doorstep. She nodded.

"Sure, why not." His face lit up. "Really?" He asked in disbelief. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, REALLY." He jumped up and down like a little kid in excitement. "Oh Vriska! That means so much to me!" She nodded and tried to smile, but her mind was already racing to other things. This just might be the shock that could wake up John. It wasn't fair to Tavros, but, if it didn't work out with John, maybe she could learn to love him.

-arachnidsGrip [AG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 23:13-  
>AG: Hey, sorry about that.<br>EB: oh, good! i thought you were angry or something.  
>AG: Haha, no.<br>AG: It was just a deal with Tavros. No biggie.  
>EB: oh yeah. are you two a thing?<br>AG: Yeah, we are. Why?  
>EB: i was just, uh, wondering.<br>AG: Oh, well, ok.  
>EB: i should go, i have a lot of homework to do.<br>AG: Yeah, me too.  
>EB: see you later, vriska.<br>AG: See you, John.  
>-arachnidsGrip [AG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 23:47-<p>

_I am so literally sorry that this chapter is so short. But w.e, ya'll can't get mad at me for it! :]_


	7. Slipping Away

_Whoa! Hey there guys! I'm sorry about the super long hiatus. I just really didn't feel like writing until I got a really good chance. This chapter will _not _focus on John or Vriska, but instead on Karkat and Terezi. Just to give the other relationships some time to flow, y'know? Anyways, here it is.  
>~lodestarParagon<em>

_-Karkat's PoV-_

Jesus, did he hate Strider.

He slammed his fingers against the keys of his computer, furiously typing in a stretch of code. The guy just made him so mad! Not only did he have to be such a condescending asshole all the time, but he HAD to have every single fucking girl in the school drool all over him. I mean, the guy would have to be blind to not notice the vacant stares he gets as he walks down the hall.

"Some dicks just have all the fuckin' luck." He muttered to himself as he pondered over a command. Slamming his hand down, he exited the window and pushed his chair away from the computer. He rolled to the window and held his cheek in his hand.

Why did the one girl he liked, out of every single girl in their 2000 female student population, have to look like she was crushing on Strider? He couldn't tell for sure – hell, he'd never had any luck with reading females – but from what he'd seen it seemed like it. "Damn Terezi. Damn Strider. Damn them both." He said grimacing.

He reached into one of his drawers and pulled out something. A stress doll. He furiously began squeezing the blue shape, it's facial features popping in and out, as he thought.

There was only one way to find out who Terezi had feelings for. He would have to put her to a test. He'd make her jealous. But with whom? None of the girls at school really appealed to him…wait! Egbert's sister…Jade? Strider obviously had a crush on her. It'd be killing two birds with one stone. He could get back at Strider, while at the same time finding out Terezi's feelings. Perfect. 

The next day at lunch, Karkat was the third to reach their table. Terezi was too busy in conversation with Sollux to acknowledge him, apparently, but when he sat down on the opposite side of the table instead of his regular seat beside her, she frowned. She turned in his general direction with a look of – was that hurt? – on her face.

"Karkat? You aren't gonna…sit by me?" She patted the seat beside her, trying to coax him over there. He shook his head, even though she couldn't see him. "No, I think I'll let Strider have that seat today." He said, a little more coldly than he had meant to. The hurt on her face was now evident. She started to say something to him when Dave sat down beside her. She frowned, eyebrows upturned, before greeting Dave and returning to her conversation, notably less excited than before.

The rest of their table trickled in, Feferi stealing Sollux away from Terezi to talk to him about something she called "secret" and that we "wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." Karkat just rolled his eyes, knowing that whatever she was talking about she was probably over blowing. Jade came by eventually, surprised by the new seat change by still happy nonetheless.

"Yay!" she exclaimed after sitting down next to him. "Do I get to talk to you today, Karky?" She asked. He grimaced at the nickname, but nodded, and they started talking. They passed the lunch in trivial conversation, but every now and then he would catch Terezi with her ear slightly cocked to them out of the corner of his eye. He smirked and continued talking to Jade until the period was over.

As he and John stood up and started talking as they headed to their Computer Science class, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to find Terezi there, her expression masked. "What do you need, Terezi?" He asked. She pursed her lips. "I want to talk to you after school on Pesterchum, okay?" She said. He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay." He said dismissively, and he and John walked away, leaving Terezi with a slight frown.

-gallowsCalibrator [GC] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]-  
>GC: H3Y K4RK4T<br>CG: WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE SO GODDAMN IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAD TO MAKE A MENTAL NOTE TO TELL ME TWO HOURS BEFORE SCHOOL ENDED?  
>GC: 1 W4NT3D TO 4SK YOU WH4T H4PP3N3D 4T LUNCH<br>CG: I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN.  
>GC: Y3S YOU DO<br>GC: YOU D1DNT S1T W1TH M3 L1K3 YOU 4LW4YS DO  
>GC: 1T 4CTU4LLY HURT MY F33L1NGS 4 L1TTL3 B1T :[<br>CG: MAYBE I JUST FELT LIKE TALKING TO JADE TODAY.  
>CG: JESUS.<br>CG: I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD TO SPEND EVERY SINGLE FUCKING LUNCH WITH YOU.  
>GC: W3LL YOU DONT…<br>GC: BUT 1T W4S K1ND4 R4NDOM  
>GC: WH4T M4D3 YOU D3C1D3 TO T4LK TO J4D3 TOD4Y?<br>CG: NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS.  
>GC: OUCH<br>GC: D1D 1 DO SOM3TH1NG TO P1SS YOU OFF OR SOM3TH1NG?  
>CG: NO.<br>GC: OK4Y  
>GC: 4R3 YOU GONN4 S1T W1TH M3 TOMORROW?<br>CG: PROBABLY NOT.  
>GC: :[<br>GC: WHY?  
>CG: MAYBE I WANT TO SPEND SOME MORE TIME WITH JADE, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.<br>GC: OH  
>GC: OK4Y<br>GC: SORRY FOR BOTH3R1NG YOU  
>- gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]—<p>

CG: NO TEREZI.  
>CG: DAMN IT.<p>

Over the next few days, Karkat spent more and more time with Jade, much to Terezi's annoyance. Every lunch they would turn away from the others and talk, much like John and Rose did. Whenever Terezi would try and say something to him, he would ignore her or give her a short, curt answer. She was getting more and more fed up with his behavior.

Eventually, she confronted him about it.

"Why do you eat every lunch with her?" She said accusingly. "You said you couldn't stand her. It's not like you two have a huge amount in common." Karkat flared up. "As if you fucking know. All you do is talk to Sollux and drool over Strider. How would you know what Jade and I have in common?" Terezi's mouth dropped open.

"Is that what all this is about? Dave?" She said, putting her hands on her hips. "I don't know what you mean by 'all this,' I figured I'd give you and Strider time at lunch to yourselves. Excuse fucking me." He retorted, trying to squeeze past her. She blocked him with her hip.

"Why are you so jealous of him?" she asked. He snorted and turned to walk away, but she grabbed his shirt. He swatted at her hand to try and get her to let go, and she snapped. She pulled him with astonishing strength and slapped him across the face, hard. Dazed, he didn't utter a word.

"KARKAT! TALK TO ME GOD DAMNIT!" She screamed, everybody in the hall turning to look at them as they passed. Some scared freshmen ran by from behind her, looking as if they had just had a heart attack. She slapped him again. "TELL ME WHAT'S FUCKING WRONG!" Shocked, he remained silent. Then, it was like she broke. She started to cry and pulled him close.

"Karkat, please! I don't…I don't want to lose my best friend. Please." She collapsed into his arms, a sobbing mess. He hesitated for just a moment before wrapping his arms around her. He held her there in the hallway, in view of everyone, as she cried. The bell rang and they remained there, holding each other. Eventually she looked up at him with her blank eyes, tinged with red. She tried to talk, and eventually he was able to decipher "I think you owe me an explanation," through the hiccups. He murmured yes, and pulled her away.

They sat on the steps of one of the side entrances. She was quiet, and so was he. He didn't know where to start. "Start by telling me why you've been ignoring me the past two weeks." She said, as if reading his mind. He cleared his throat.

"Well…" He began. "I did it because I was jealous. Jealous of the attention you always gave Strider. You always seemed to pay more attention to him than you did to me, and it hurt. But the real reason, I guess, was because I wanted to know how you would react if you no longer had my company. I wanted to…I wanted to find out your feelings on me."

She nodded for him to continue. "I was jealous too, because, well, I thought you liked Strider. You were always staring at him and giggling at his jokes and I guess I just felt ignored. I wanted you and your company back, but, this wasn't the right way to do it." She shook her head. "No, it wasn't but it's past now. I have a question, though." He looked at her to find that she had that mischievous smile back on her face.

"Why were you jealous when you thought I liked Dave?" Karkat blushed. His gaze fell. There was no way out of this one now.

"Well, because…because I like you, Terezi. I like you very much. If we as teenagers can feel love, then I think that's what I'm feeling." He looked up to find tears at the corners of her eyes, and a smile on her face.

"You dummy." She said, before taking his face and meshing her lips with his. A feeling of warmth spread from his toes to his head, his chest filling with euphoria. She pulled away from the kiss and wrapped him in a hug, whispering in his ear:

"I love you too, you idiot."

And for once, he didn't feel angry.

_Well, that wraps it up for this chapter. I'm sorry it was short, it's just background filler for the main event series, but jeez did I feel good writing this chapter. I love the Karezi ship, it's so adorable. The next chapter also won't focus on John or Vriska, but will instead be on Dave and Jade. No promises on a release date._

_Until next time!_

_-Dedicated to angelicAirwaves, because she was really in mind as I wrote this chapter-_


	8. A Close Call

_1200 views! Holy cow! You guys must really love the story  
>Chapter 8! Some Dave Jade for you fans out there. If you don't ship it, don't read it, it's not essential to the story, it's just filler. Hope you guys enjoy.<br>~lodestarParagon_

_-Dave's PoV-_

Damn, Jade Harley was _fine_.

Dave scrolled down his tumblr dash, reblogging something else his brother had posted. Ignoring a message from Bro telling stop their endless circle jerk of posts, he glazed over his dashboard and his thoughts returned to Jade. How that babe could _possibly_ be related to a dude like Egbert, he couldn't figure out for the life of him. Taking a sip from a juice carton on his desk, he pulled up Pesterchum, spontaneously deciding to make a move on that fine piece of eccentric ass.

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG]  
>TG: hey jade<br>GG: hey dave!  
>GG: whats up?<br>TG: just tumblin and stuff  
>GG: cool stuff! heehee<br>GG: so cool  
>TG: yeah<br>TG: hey do you wanna go on a date or something  
>TG: mostly the date part not the somethin<br>TG: jade?

_- Jade's PoV-_  
>AIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!<p>

-_John's PoV-_  
>What the heck?<p>

_-Dave's PoV-  
><em>GG: YES!  
>GG: YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!<br>GG: i mean yeah maybe i guess if my schedules open i can squeeze you in  
>GG: *aloof*<br>GG: good news, i think i can squeeze you in this saturday  
>TG: actually i was thinkin Friday<br>GG: friday works too!  
>GG: friday is awesome too!<br>TG: heh alright man  
>TG: see you friday night<br>TG: well catch a movie or somethin  
>GG: sounds good! what movie?<p>

-_Jade's PoV-  
>What movie?!<em> The movie doesn't even matter!

_-Dave's PoV-  
><em>  
>TG: well i dunno i guess well see when we get there<br>GG: okay! sounds cool! this friday?  
>TG: yeah<br>GG: sweet! okay! see you then!  
>TG: see ya<br>GG:  
>- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG]-<p>

A heart?

_-Jade's PoV-_

A HEART?!

What the actual _fuck_ was she thinking?!

_-Dave's PoV-_

She totally digs the Strider.

* * *

><p>Dave tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, humming the song under his breath. He checked the time on the dash. 6:12. Not even close to being late. He checked the streets and the numbers on the slip of paper he had scrawled Jade's address onto. Verifying that they all were correct, he pulled his black Challenger into the young lady's driveway. Turning the car off and watching the red glare from his decal fade away from the garage door, he stepped out of the car and fixed his tie. Grabbing the bouquet of roses he had bought previously, he swallowed his nervousness and knocked on her door.<p>

"Hello, Mr. Strider. I've been expecting you."  
>Gulp.<p>

Jade and John's father chuckled to himself. "Well, Dave, you seem like an alright young man. You just take care of my daughter, you hear? You put her above you. She's one of my greatest treasures." Dave nodded. That was something he had full intention to. "Yes sir, of course. I won't let anything bad happen to her, I promise." Dad nodded and started to say something about cake while they wait. Dave really couldn't eat – He would have to make every bite count at the restaurant – but luckily he didn't have to say anything because he heard a small voice clear her throat from behind him.

He turned to find Jade standing there in a beautiful black and green dress sparkled with white. The green outlined the black, making it stand out even more and seem infinitely dark, like the void of space. It cascaded down her, fitting her curves and love handles perfectly. He felt a little bit of desire as he looked over her – god damn she was gorgeous – but he held it back due to the fact that Jade's father was standing beside him. He stammered a little bit, pulling at his collar.

"Wow, Jade, you look, uhm, wow." He stammered, holding out the roses to her. She gasped and took them, breathing them in deeply. "Aw, Davey! They're beautiful!" She kissed him on the cheek, and he felt his face turn as bright red as the lights on his car, something that made Dad clear his throat loudly. Jade giggled and took him by the hand, pulling him towards the door.

"We'll be back in a few hours, Daddy!" Dad called out something about having her back by midnight, Jade giggled and Dave didn't care. They jumped into Dave's car, revved the engine twice (much to Dad and John's irritation) and took off into the night, red lights blazing every time he pumped the gas pedal, making Jade giggle and lean in closer to him. So, of course, he didn't go below 50 the entire way there.

-_A few hours later-_

Jade laughed again loudly at Dave's joke, threatening to spill her drink on her beautiful dress. Dave smiled. Some of the other fellows there cast furtive glances at them, but he didn't care. He was just focused on the gorgeous black-haired young lady across the table from him. Checking his watch and seeing it was almost time to get going for the movie, he put his hand on Jade's and whispered it was time to go to her. She smiled and squeezed his hand. Paying the bill, they held hands as they walked out of the restaurant, talking quietly.

-_At the movie-_

Dave pulled his seat down right as the movie started, passing the popcorn to Jade. She smiled and took it, eating a few pieces before setting it down beside them. He confidently put his arm around her, and she nuzzled her head into him. He was very warm, like a human heater, and it matched her natural coldness very nicely. He pulled her closer and kissed her head before settling in to watch the movie.

After the movie had ended, they walked into the crisp night air laughing, not really having paid much attention to the movie. He started to head to their car, but she pulled him to the side of the movie theatre with a sly grin on her face. Shrugging, he followed along, and as soon as they were out of the view of the theatre, she pulled him into a deep kiss. Surprised, he got into the kiss and kissed, back, sliding down the wall as they got wrapped into each other.

(Author's Note: Once the fic is finished I will be releasing smut parts of these chapters, I just don't want them here as I try and right this romantically. You can go back and read the smut parts later and inject them into the parts of the story where they fit in. There will be a smut part here.)

* * *

><p>Dave drove along the highway, turning off his red glare so he could turn on his high beams. Jade talked beside him, talking about how much she had loved this night so far. He grinned and told her he was having a great time as well and that he enjoyed her company immensely. She squeezed his hand again and kissed his cheek. His smile quickly turned into a frown as the eighteen-wheeler in front of him swerved oddly again. It had been doing that the past few minutes and Dave didn't like it at all. "Jeez, I don't like being behind this truck. The guy must be tired. Let me see if I can-" His words were cut off as the truck suddenly veered to the left, flipping onto it's side. Jade shrieked and Dave yelled as he turned the wheel quickly, hands hardened and tempered with years of spinning records. The Charger turned quickly and Dave slammed onto the brakes, the car sliding quickly towards the fallen truck. Dave unbuckled his seatbelt in an instant, those years of flash-step lessons by Bro finally paying off, and threw his body in front of Jade just as her side of the car slammed hard into the truck. The glass shattered as the car absorbed the impact, and Dave cried out in pain as the shards struck into him, thankfully not even touching Jade. The car pushed the truck forward before coming to a stop, resting in the middle of the road. Dave pulled himself slowly off of Jade, falling back into his seat, his hand resting on his sides where the glass was piercing him. "Jade…please…911…" he coughed, blood spewing out of his mouth with every cough. Jade nodded, tears flowing out of her eyes. She pulled Dave close and hugged him, dialing the phone. "911? I have an emergency. My boyfriend and I just got in a wreck on IH-35. A truck turned over and our car slammed into it...the glass broke and my boyfriend covered me and he's got glass sticking out of his sides now…please just get someone over here! Okay, okay thank you. Yes, he is a real hero. No, I won't let him go. Not now, not ever."<p>

* * *

><p>Dave's eyes fluttered open to the bright glare of fluorescent lights. "Shades. SHADES." He said immediately, trying to cover his eyes but finding a IV limiting his movement. He felt a soft pair of hands put his shades on and caress the side of his face, and he turned to find Jade there, tears streaming down her face with the most relieved and happy smile on her face that he had ever seen, a smile that made the ice around his heart melt in an instant. She wrapped her arms around his neck, being careful not to hurt him. "Oh my god, Dave, oh my god!" He felt her tears land on his neck and face, and he hugged her back, kissing her.<p>

He heard two male voices clear their throats off to the side, but Jade wouldn't remove herself from around his neck, so he had to peer around her. There he saw Dad and Bro there, Dad holding a balloon that said Hero and Bro holding a balloon with the word hero on it, but with words scrawled onto the end so it read Heroic Idiot instead. Beside them sat enough Get Well cards to supply a school for several years and a small mountain of gifts.

"Well, you big dork," Bro began. "You managed to crash your car in the only way that prevents me from giving you a major ass-whoopin'- You saved someone's life." Jade sniffled at that, and Dave felt another fresh wave of tears hit his neck. Bro explained that the ambulance had come shortly after Dave had blacked out, and had taken him away. He'd been unconscious for a full 27 hours and Jade hadn't left his side once since then, sleeping with her head rested against his chest. Dave had taken the full impact of the glass into his sides, which instead would have directly sliced into Jade and she would have likely lost her life. Dave pulled her closer at that, feeling very protective of her. All their friends had stopped by to see them, and added to the pile and cards, wishing him a quick recovery. At that, Bro got up, saying he had to find a vending machine. Dad said he had to go get something too, but stayed behind after Bro had left. He leaned over Dave and whispered in his ear.

"Young man. I am extremely proud of you for saving my daughter like that. That was an act of true heroics, not only thinking on a dime like that but your first thought being to sacrifice yourself for my little girl. I need to tell you, though, that after this, I honestly don't think she will ever let you go. Not from her side or from your relationship. Are you okay with that?" Dave thought about it for a second. He would have never have thought to save another person like he had saved Jade. He hadn't really thought about a girl like that before… "I believe I am, sir." Jade cried out in happy tears and hugged him even tighter, bawling like a baby – she had been listening the whole time – and Dad patted him with a smile.

"Good job, son."

_Oh my god! I loved writing this chapter. Such feels! It was so amazing. I hope you all enjoyed it! Sorry for all the delay. The next chapter is going to take me SUPER fucking long to write, like literal ages, the chapter is god damn HUGE and so much happens, I honestly expect it to be over 4000 words by the time I'm finished with it. Love you guys!_

~lodestarParagon


	9. What the hell?

_18 followers, 13 favorites and 15 reviews! Wow! This fic has gotten an okay bit of attention! I mean, that's not a ton, not by a long shot, but thank you to all my fans! I am going to start answering reviews now, so if you want to send in more I guess they're appreciated? I dunno I don't wanna sound more like an attention whore than I already do.__  
><em>_Anyways, back to John and Rose and Vriska and Tavros! Enjoy the chapter; it took FUCKING DECADES to write because it is so fucking gigantic I mean oh my god don't even get me started on this fucking chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.__  
><em>_~lodestarParagon_

_- John's PoV-_  
>John gripped Rose's hand as usual as they waited for the bus. It was finally starting to warm up a bit (you could tell because the davehog had finally moved out of its winter long sleeves and into a summer tee, it must have made out with its shadow) and John was finally able to move out of his winter clothes and into his collection of green slime tees in various colors. Rose wore the same skirt and tee as usual, looking good <em>as usual<em>, but she had changed from a pink squiddle to a green version of the same creature today. She squeezed his hand and he smiled at her while Dave and Jade talked off to themselves, wrapped up in their own little world that they hadn't left in weeks.

When the bus arrived, John carefully let Dave on first, making sure not to let anyone touch his sides or else Dave would either scream out in pain or slice the guy in half courtesy of battle instincts from their friendly math teacher. Of course, neither John nor Dave would have a chance of getting to whoever did it before Jade tore them limb from limb for touching her "soul mate," and her "perfect hero," and "how dare they even think they have the right to touch him he is a god in my eyes if that Gamzee so much as lays a FUCKING FINGER ON MY PRECIOUS BABY SO HELP ME GOD." It made John smile whenever she talked about Dave like that, and he just felt like they would make it in the long run.

Love was apparently in the air at Barnable Franklin High School (lol lamest fucking name in the entire world seriously what is even a barnable); John noticed as he stepped off the bus, couples were popping up all over the place. Karkat and Terezi, Dave and Jade, John and Rose, Tavros and Vriska…Vriska. Jeez. Don't get him wrong, John really liked Rose, but if someone asked him he didn't know if he could say no to whether or not he still had feelings for Vriska. She was just so…her! John sighed. He didn't know what to think. He kissed Rose goodbye and headed to his English class, walking in to a surprise.

"New seats!" Dr. Scratch called. The seating had been rearranged and the order put on the board.  
>(Only names that matter shown)<p>

Terezi P.

Aradia M.

John E.

Vriska S.

Feferi P.

Dave S.

Sollux C.

Equius Z.

Kanaya M.

John gulped and turned to his new seat. Vriska was sitting there already and she did _not look happy_.

John set his bag down beside his desk and sat down cautiously. Vriska didn't speak to him, but he noticed that her writing had become a lot more furious then before he walked in. She scribbled hard on the page, her blue ink fading in and out as she wrote what appeared to be multiple swear words and his name. Once she saw him looking, she quickly shut her journal and threw it in her bag in a huff, but not before he could read the word love on the front of the cover.

He didn't know what to say. They hadn't talked on Pesterchum or face to face since Tavros asked her out and proved to be an incredibly overprotective boyfriend, almost annoyingly so, and she hadn't answered his messages whenever he had tried to talk to her, so he had given up and left her alone. Now however, she looked ready to ring his neck if he said so much as a word, so of course he started to speak up.

"Vriska, what did I do wrong to piss you off so much, exactly? You haven't said a god damned word to me since you got together with Tavros, just when I thought we were starting to be really, really close too…" Vriska looked up when that came flying out of John's mouth. John never swore. NEVER. He had visible pain in his eyes and he looked upset. That's when it came crashing back to her why _she_ was upset – his blatant ignorance of her advances when she was obviously head over fuckin' heels in love with him, but he hadn't done a fucking thing about it.

"Well, _maybe_ John, if you could actually PICK THE FUCK UP ON WHAT A GIRL IS FEELING ABOUT YOU, you wouldn't have me pissed off at you!" She yelled at him, before turning back to her work. John stared at her surprised, before hearing Scratch clear his throat behind him. "Excuse me; are you two sure you will be able to sit next to each other?" John looked at Vriska, who was hunched over her notepad scribbling, frequently tearing the page but obviously not giving a fuck about how hard she was pressing with her pen. John nodded. "Yes sir, we can, it was my mistake, and I said something wrong." Scratch pursed his lips understandingly and patted him on the back before walking back to his desk and pulling out a newspaper while the students worked on what was on the projector. John tore his gaze away from Vriska and started on his own work, but he didn't see the tears that fell and stained her paper, nor the quiet sounds of crying that were overcome by the projector's hum. 

* * *

><p>"A party?"<br>Karkat grumbled to himself and Terezi shushed him with a kiss. She repeated herself. "A party? What do you mean a party?" John turned to Feferi, who had made the announcement, mildly intrigued.  
>"A party! That's what me and Solly have been planning! We didn't want you guys to ruin it!" Feferi said excitedly. (HAHAHAHA IF ANY OF YOU CAUGHT THE FORESHADOWING BACK IN CHAPTER 7 AND REMEMBERED IT TILL NOW I AM SO FUCKING PROUD OF YOU)<br>Karkat rolled his eyes. "You expect me to get all excited over a fucking party? Why do I give a flying-"  
>"Shut up Karkles, you're going." Terezi interrupted him with that sweet mischievous smile of hers and Karkat couldn't say anything. He was so wrapped it wasn't funny. Everyone laughed at that, John noticing Dave wincing and Jade cooing over him. Adorable, the entire fucking lot of them.<p>

"But yes, a party! It's gonna be at Peixes Manor and EVERYONE IS INVITED!" The cafeteria let out a whoop at that. Apparently Feferi's parties were a thing to die for. Rose pulled John into a discussion about how they could go together and they'd be so cute and they would have such a great time and oh my god she had the perfect dress for this and we could sew him a green slime tux it would be so cute. John just nodded. "Yeah, uh huh, yup, mhm, totally." She squeezed his hand and kissed him.  
>"I'm so excited!" she said, practically bouncing up and down, almost completely out of character. He just laughed and hugged her, but soon his gaze found its way over to Vriska. She had perked up at Feferi's announcement and apparently her gaze had its way over to him as well, but it turned away as soon as he looked. Tavros started talking to her rapidly, and some of their friends were apparently making plans to go as well. John sighed. He figured he had no choice in the matter; Rose would drag him to the thing dead or alive, even though he had never had a taste for parties. He might as well go and have a good time. Who knows, he might even see how good Rose and Vriska looked in party dresses. Who knew what would happen. <p>

* * *

><p>John drove his dad's car carefully along IH-35. Rose was in the passenger seat beside him, and Dave and Jade were in the back seat, so he made sure he could not get in an accident. Jade was whispering sweet nothings to Dave, and Dave was doing it back before he pulled away to look at the window. "You guys think my blood's in front of us, or have we passed it already?" He meant it as a joke, but Jade broke out whimpering. Rose shot him a glare and John whistled and remarked about how smooth he was while Dave comforted his lover. They got off IH-35 quickly – it had proven to be a traumatic experience for anyone in their families to drive along it – and drove along the side road that led to Peixes Manor. As soon as they turned into the correct address, John had to blink from the sheer amount of light hitting him.<p>

John had never seen Peixes Manor before, which is a splendor to behold even in the daytime, but when it's night and it's got a thousand different colors shooting out of every window and people are dancing on the lawn and on the roof and all over the place, it's truly a sight. Dave put his shades back on – it's hard to cuddle a girl when you've got metal digging into your skin – and still complained it was too bright. They even had hired a crosswalk guard for parking. "ID?" The man asked as John pulled up by him. John handed him his driver's license. "Oh, Mr. Egbert. And these would be Ms. Lalonde and Mr. and Mrs. Strider as Ms. Peixes put it?" A squeal from Jade in the backseat. John rolled his eyes and nodded. The guard handed him back his ID and directed him to a special parking spot on the driveway. John parked the car and went over to help Rose out, Dave following suit with Jade, and they linked arms together as they walked into the party.

Dance music poured out of the speakers set around the house. John and Rose fought their way through the mass mob of flesh, while Dave and Jade melted into the dancers with ease. John found his way to a couch, and soon Rose plopped herself down on his lap. Someone offered him a red plastic cup, and he shook his head. He was allergic to alcohol, after all. Rose also denied it, but she seemed tipsy enough already without the influence of beer. They laughed at some jokes but they were quickly enthralled in each other and before John knew it he was being led away by Rose. She led him to a corner and pushed him against the wall, starting to lock him in a kiss.

Something felt…different, though. He thought that when he kissed Rose he would feel something amazing. Something like Jade described when she kissed Dave. Not necessarily a spark, but, a sense of fulfillment. But…with Rose…he couldn't feel it. The more he thought about it, he didn't think he had ever felt it. As soon as he pulled away from the kiss and looked into Rose's eyes, he saw the same thoughts running through her head. They put their foreheads together in silence, the party raging on around them as they came to the terms inside their own little bubble. He started to speak up, but Rose cut him off.

"I know." They stayed silent. He whispered "I'm sorry" under his breath, and she shook her head. "No, it's…not your fault. We just aren't…our other halves." He watched a tear run down her cheek. They held each other tight for a minute before breaking apart. Rose smiled through the tears, and wiped them away. "Well, I'm not going to let this ruin our friendship. We're just meant to be friends." John nodded and gave her a hug. Rose said something about going off to find Kanaya, and John figured he would just wander around the party.

_-Vriska's PoV-_  
>Vriska battled her way into the kitchen and filled up her and Tavros' drinks. Nodding at some people she didn't know, she decided she would go the long away around to avoid the mob and to surprise Tavros. Picking up some of his favorite candy along the way as a surprise, she snuck around through the hallways instead of the main living room. It had been years since she had been to Feferi's house, since back in middle school, but she still remembered the layout. She snuck into the small dining room where she and Tavros had been.<p>

"Taaaaaaaavroooo-" Vriska's mouth dropped open. The cups of alcohol fell from her hand and spilled on the tile. Tavros pulled himself away from Nepeta quickly. "Hey, Vris." Vriska balled her hand into a fist, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Nepeta backed away and ran off quickly.

"Tavros. What. The. ABSOLUTE _FUCK?!"_She screamed at the top of her lungs. She ran over to him and decked him across the face. Shocked, he took the blow, but caught her hand the second time. He pulled her arm down and hit her in the face. She screamed out, and Tavros threw her on the couch, got up and started wailing on her. His fists rammed into her back over and over, threatening to break her ribs while Vriska screamed out for help. The punches got quicker, and stronger. Vriska's cries escalated in loudness and turned into shrieks. Apparently, Tavros' self confidence had gotten a little bit too big. Well, it had, however, until he felt two different very strong hands on his back, and was spun around to find John and Equius on either side of his him, each with a fist pulled back and aimed at his face.  
>"Nighty night, fuckass."<p>

_-Tavros' PoV-_  
>"John, you should not use language befitting a ruffia-"<br>WHAM.

_-John's PoV-_  
>John rushed over to Vriska. Luckily, she wasn't too badly hurt, Tavros' first blows had glazed her face and the rest had hit her body, so she was just aching and hurting, her self confidence hurt more than anything. Tears waterfall down her face and when John pulled her into an embrace, she didn't fight it at all. She hiccupped. "John, this is all my fault. I tried to make you jealous with Tavros…John I'm so sorry!" She bawled into his suit, and he rested his chin on her head. Equius nodded to him, picking Tavros' unconscious body up and, hefting it over his shoulder, walked into the next room, closing and locking the door behind him. John heard his bellowing voice calling for someone to take this fecal matter somewhere where he would never have to gaze upon its putrid face again. Vriska looked up into John's eyes, makeup running and a look of absolute need on her face; he leaned down and touched foreheads with her, closing the gap between them physically and emotionally. "Vriska…I like you. I've liked you since I first saw you. I-" She pulled him into a soft kiss, drawing him close and locking her arms around him. The kiss felt…<em>right<em>. For the first time. It only lasted a few seconds, but, to John and Vriska it had a lifetime of love imbued into it. He placed his hand at the back of her neck and she wrapped her arms around his head, pulling him closer. They broke from the kiss and held each other tight, lying there on the couch together, seeming to be just one person they were so close.

Vriska nuzzled her head into his shoulder, not being able to bear an inch of distance from him, and he didn't allow her any room to leave him. She kissed his neck and he smiled into her hair, before perking up and drawing slightly away from her. She whimpered and drew closer. "What's wrong, 8a-I mean, babe?" She asked, trying to hide her silly accent. He smiled as a slow song started to gently ooze out of the speakers, and her eyes shined brighter than any gemstone in the world as he asked her to dance. He pulled her up by the hand and, wrapping themselves as close together as they could and still being able to move, they gently swayed to the lilt and meter of the music.

"I love you, John."  
>"Hm. Doooooooo ya?"<br>"Shut up and kiss me."

_(*deep breath* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE this chapter was so sweet and nice to write! Oh my gosh I literally loved this chapter. I know I promised 4000 words but I really feel I was able to say what I wanted to say in 2900. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! __  
><em>_Bombs about to go down soon in the coming chapters! I promise shockers and more gooey mushy love scenes!__  
><em>_Review please! Love all of you!)_


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